Tabernacle safe



My 9, 1933. H P, MERTEL 1,907,850

TABERNACLE SAFE Filed April 19, 1930 s sheets-sheet 1 May 9, 1933. H. P. MERTEL. 1,907,850

TABERNACLE SAFE Filed April 1'9, 1930 3 sheets-sheet 2 May 9, 1933. H. P. MERTEL 1,907,850

TABERNACLE SAFE Filed April 19, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 9, 1933 PATE ' FFICE HENRY P. MERTEL, F RIDGEFIELD, NEW JERSEY TABERNACLE sera Application ledApril 19, 1930. SeraI No. 445,565. l

This invention relates to improvements in tabernacle safes.

My present invention is an improvement on the tabernacle safe shown and described i in my co-pending application, Serial. No. 410,230, filed November 27, 1929. Y One of the objects of this invention is t0 provide a balanced door constructionV in a safe having a single door supported on a 19 radially-extending pivotally-turning` ballbearing arm such as shown and described in my said co-pending application and to this end, I preferably extend the pivotal doorsupporting arm radially or diametrically 0n the side of the pivot opposite to the door and mount on this extension of the pivotallyswinging doorsupporting arm at the side of the pivot opposite to the door a counterweight substantially equal in weight to the door. 'a

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved form of locking mechanism including a key-operated latch-member and latching-notch which will enable the effective locking of' the door while being completely concealed and without having` any latches, sockets or apertures in any of the edges of thc doorway or of the door proper, it being understood that such sockets or apertures are objectionable in altar tabernacle safes, and to this end, I provide a latching locking notch in a heel bracket connected or integral with therear edge of the door, extending below the doorway and preferably having a reentrant portion extendingforwardlyin the plane of the door and spaced below the same where it is engaged with keyaetuated latch or locking mechanism to lock the door. Y

Still another object of my invention is to provide, in a safe oi the type specified, a door-locking or -latching mechanism comprising a pivoted lever or levers arranged to be normally retained in locking engage-y ment and to be releasable therefrom by insertion of a key into a lock.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a further balancing and non-tilting arrangement of the door by ntilizinga reentrant heel bracket of the type hereinabove described for engagement of door-moving or opening and closing mechanism, thus producing a construction in Vwhich any tendency of the `door-moving mechanism to tilt the door in its opening and closing movement is avoided. L

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved simple Vand compact i'orm of door-moving mechanism operable by the manual turning of a spindle after the unlocking of the door which is'prei'erab-ly ac-` complished by insertion of a key.

Still another object is'to provide double locking or latching levers for my door, both operable on the insertion of a key into the lock, one being disposed in a vertical plane and 'operable by `vertically-disposed projections on the keyand the other being disposed ina horizontal plane andi operable by the end of the key upon its projection horizontallyinto the lock.

With these and other objects in view, the Y invention comprises the combination of members and arrangement of parts so combined as to co-act and cooperate with each other in the performance ofthe functions and theiaccomplishment of the results herein contem-V plated, anl comprises in one of its adaptations the species or preferred form illus-k trated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1l is a iront elevationof a tabernacle safe embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 oif Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 4L is a section o-n the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of ythe arrow;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction ofthe arrow;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the lock employed by me showing, in dotted lines, the position of the key-engaging element of theV door-locking mechanism;

9 is a side elevation of a. lock also modified form of door-latching or locking mechanism Fig. 13 is a section on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12, looking in the direction of the arrow;

' Fig. 14 is a separated view of the add1- tional pivotal latching lever employed by me; and i t Fig. 15 is a fragmentary detail partly 1n elevation and partly in section.

Referring now to these drawings, whichillustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, 1 indicates a tabernacle safe which, in accordance with the preferred form of my invention, is cylindrical in conformation and comprises a shell orbody portion composed of a top annular frame member comprising a ring 2, a bottom annule11 frame member, comprising a ring 3, each having outwardly projecting horizontal flanges 2. 3 and inset vertical flanges 2a, 3a. The outer edges or perimeter'of the'flanges 2", 3', are connected together by an outer metallic shell 4 and the vertical flanges 2a, 3a are connected togetherl by an inner wall 5 which, as shown, is fitted Within seats in side edges of such vertical flanges 2a, 3a respectively. The arrangement of the walls 4 and 5 on the top and bottom members 2 and 3-provide a narrow annular compartment 6 between the walls 4 and 5. The walls 4 and 5 are generally cylindrical in conformation. with an opening formed therein at the front portion to provide a doorway 7 and I utilize the cylindrical compartment 6 between the walls 4 and 5 as a sheathing compartment for a door 8 adapted to close the door-opening 'r' formed in said walls 4 and 5 respectively.

In tabernacle safes of the type under consideration, it is necessary, in order to comply with the rubric of the Catholic Church in which these tabernacle safes are utilized to have the interior surfaces of the compartment used for the eucharist. including the surfaces of the doorwav of said compartment, free of groove slots and the like and, in the embodiment shown in my aforesaid co-nend ing application, I have provided a main interior compartment 9, the surfaces of which utilize mechanism for mounting, moving` and locking the door and I, furthermore, provide a construction in which any tendency to tilt the door during movement by the mechanism will be avoided. As illustrated, I mount my doorsupporting, door-moving and doorlocking mechanism in compartments 14 and 15 above and below the said main compartment.

In my co-pending application, the door` moving mechanism was connected to the door through an opening below the main compartment which communicates with the doorsheathing compartment 6 out of registry and to one side of the door opening. The engagement of the door in such manner has a tendency to tilt the door during its movement by mechanism or arms so connected and, in the present embodiment of my invention, I relieve the stress due to this tilting tendency by providing the heel of the'door with a reentrant bracket whichextends beneath and in the plane of the door but below the floor or saddle of the doorway and I also preferably utilize this reentrant bracket as one of the cooperating elements for locking my door and thus provide completely concealed locking mechanism and also avoid all bolts, sockets or the like extending through or mounted on the edges of the door or doorway, and when I utilize an extension 8d on the front of the door at the top thereof, the door when in open position is completely free of sockets, bolts or other exposed locking mechanism, and also of grooves, locks and the like.

As illustrated, I provide a floor plate 10l which rests upon and is Vfastened to the upper edge of the annular vertical flange 3, a ceiling plate 11 which is fastened to the lower edge of the flange 2a and this compartment 9 is preferably provided with an intermediate wooden lining 12 and an internal surface lining 13 of silk. The attachment of the floor plate 10 on the flange 3a provides, directly beneath the plate, the shallow compartment 15 and similarly the arrangement of the flanges 2LL provides above said compartment 9 another shallow compartment 14, and I utilize these compartments 14 and 15 to mount my supporting, door-moving and lock mechanism for the door 8. Y

By the use of my reentrant bracket hereinabove specified, I avoid any groove in the bottom plate 10 and still provide means for connecting the door below said bottom plate with concealed door-moving mechanism, and, as illustrated, I provide the heel of the door with a reentrant bracket 8 which, inthe closed position of the door, extends beneath the floor plate 10 and has connected thereto a door-moving radial arm 23 which, in the preferred construction, is also a partial supporting member. This connection will thus be entirely concealed in any position of the door either open or closed. t

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the door is preferably hungI or suspended from the end of a supporting element mounted above the ceiling plate to swing pivotally. Thus a radial arm 19 is pivotally mounted above the door anddoorway and connected by screws 20 withthe upper edge of the door 8 intermediate the side ledges thereof. f

The door is, as in my co-pending application, preferably provided at its upper edge with an extension element 8d which is preferably of similar dimensions to the door andV is adapted, when the door is in closedposition, merely to extend within the sheathing compartment 6 but when the door is in open position, this extension 8d, closes the operating groove at the upper edge or top of the doorway in which the door moves.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide the door-hanger or suspension arm 19 within the compartment 14 with ballbearing elements, each preferably comprising a base member 2O comprising a substantially circular plate having ballbearingvgrooves 20 provided with balls 21, a movable top plate 22 similarly provided with grooves 22 fitting over the balls 21.

Doors of the type under consideration are heavy and in order to facilitate the movement thereof and to balance the load on the ballbearing hanging element, I provide an eXten- Vsion 19n on said element to the side of the pivot or axis about which the ballbearing hanger turns and mount on said extension 192L a counterweight 19h.

Said movable member' 22 is arranged over the stationary member 2O and has connected thereto and preferably formed integral therewith the radial arm 19 so as to form a ballbearing pivotally movable and counter-balanced supporting hanger for the door.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the door-moving mechanism is provided below the door 8 in the compartment 15 and I utilize a mounting member 23 which is movable about the axis of the cylindrical walls 4 and 5 to guide the movement of the lower edge of the door within the sheathing compartment 6, to serve a part of the door-moving mechanism and also in one of the embodiments of my invention to serve as a part of the locking mechanism. As shown, this member 23 is mounted on a pivot 23 and has a ballbearing 23EL disposed between a circular aperture 23b therein and said piovt 23. My door-moving mechanism is operable manually by means of the turning of a key, knob or like element and it is desirable to minimize the turning movement of this manually-inevable member as much as possibe Therefore,

` said member 23 is connected at its enter end closing ^of the door by av relatively short* ject from this bevel-gear a radial arm 24 and e connect this arm by means of a link 25 pivoted at opposite ends with a projection 23" arranged adjacent to the pivot of said member 23. Lock-controlled means for turning the bevel gear 24 to move the door is provided, and as shown, the bevelled gear 24 meshes with a bevelled pinion 27 mounted on a lock spindle 29 of a locking mechanisinwhich, upon operation of conventional lock tumblers and turning, is adapted to cause theturning of the bevelle'd pinion 27, which, in turn, rotates the pinion 24 to cause the movement oi the members 24, 24', 25 and 23 and a swinging ofthe door '8 within the sheathing compartment 6.

In the form of'my invention shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the locking mechanism comprises a lock 29 having a face plate 29EL provided with a key spindle 29 rotatable in the housing upon the insertion of a key 30 in combination with" latching means cooperating therewith to lock the door. 'In accordance with my present invention, I provide a latching or locking lever 31 pivoted at 31 and normally swung on its pivot into engaging position by pressure of a spring 31a on the end 31C so that when the door is closed: the free end 31 will engage a locking notchV 8b in the bracket 8. `he lock 29 is provided with a notch or elbow 29b into which is iitted a lock-mounting bar 33 and said lock housing has mounted therein a rod 32 movable by the insertion of the key into the lock and mounted beneath the end of the lever 3l. The rod 32 is adapted to be engaged by avertical projection 30 of the key 30 to cause the upward movement of one Vend 31C of the lever and the opposite end 31D to be moved downwardly. The end 31b which is drawn downwardly has a hook end which normally is pressed by the spring 31?L into engagement with a notch 8b and when moved downwardly swings out of the notch 8b in the heel bracket 8 and releases the door.

It will be seen from the above that in the said embodiment of Figs..5 to 9, the latch lever will be immediately withdrawn upon the insertion of the key 30 into the lock and the engagement of the verticalprojection 30 with the pin or rod 32 and that this insertion movement will, therefore, Withdraw the latch from the notch or socket 8b in the lower or bottom edge of the bracket 8, it being understood that the movement of the door-moving mechanism wil be arranged to cause the notch 8" in the bracket to register with the latch when the key slot in the spindle isvin substantially vertical position and when the pin 32 isV in registry with the projection 30 of the key and also that when the key is withdrawn, the

spring-pressed lever end 31c will be permitted to move downwardly and the latching end 31b will be moved into the notch 8b. The locking mechanism per se is conventional and need not be described except to say that the arrangement is such that the key cannot be withdrawn until the key groove reaches vertical position and is in registry with the pin 32.

In Figs. l() and 11, I have shown a slightly modied form of my invention in which the lock and'operating spindle are separate and independent, and in this embodiment the lock and key will perform its function of releasing the pivoted lever in all respects similar to that hereinabove described but instead of moving the door by a turning movement of the key, I provide a separate spindle 50` connected to the bevel pinion and provide said spindle 50 at its outer end with a knob 51.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 12 to 14, I also provide an additional horizontal latching lever 40 pivoted at 41 and normaliy having its end 40 engaged and moved by spring 42 to swing the lever about its pivot and to move the end 40 thereof into engagement with a pin 43 on the door-moving lever 23. This lever thus normally locks the door when it is moved to locked position and serves as a secondary lock therefor. As illus trated, the lever 40 is shifted about its pivot to release the pin by the en-d 301 of the key and is provided with a bearing plate 40a so as to permit turning of the key in the lock while maintaining the lever in withdrawn position. Y

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide an exterior door frame 45 and the front portion of the compartment 15 is closed by a panel member 46 in which is mounted the locking mechanism 29.

Having described my invention, I claim Y1. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combination, a safe having a wall substantially cylindrical in conformation and having a vertical aXis, said wall having an opening therethrough to form a doorway, door-supporting mechanism arrangedto swing about said axis, a door mounted on said door-supporting mechanism and movable therewith about the said aXis of'said cylindrical wall to open and close said doorway, a counter-weight for said door-supporting mechanism on the side of said axis opposite to said door, mechanism` for moving said door mounted below the doorway, a bracket extending below the body of the door and engageable with a portion of said door outside the confines of said doorway, and means for connecting said bracket and door-moving mechanism.

2. A tabernacle safe embodying, in combi nation, a safe having va wall substantially cy' lindrical in conformation and having a vertical aXis, said wall having an opening therethrough to form a doorway, door-supporting mechanism arranged to swing about said axis, a door mounted on said door-supporting mechanism and movable therewith about the said axis of said cylindrical wall to open and close said doorway, a counter-weight for said door-supporting mechanism on the side of said axis opposite to said door, mechanism for moving said door mounted below the ydoorway, a reentrant bracket connected to the heel of the doorway and extending around and beneath the saddle of the doorway in the plane of a .portion of the body of the door, and means for connecting said reentrant bracket and door-moving mechanism.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name to the foregoing specification. l

HENRY P. MERTEL. 

